The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will complete a planned rehabilitation of the 29 bridge decks on the Marquette Interchange beginning in spring 2018.
The department has put out a bid to find a designer for the project, which is estimated to cost at least $15 million.
The Marquette Interchange reconstruction was completed in 2008. Inspectors have found deck transverse cracking over the bridges during routine evaluations that could result in quicker deterioration of the decks’ concrete and steel reinforcement. A thin polymer overlay will be added to the bridges on I-43, I-94 and I-794.
“This is a planned project that we have to essentially put a thin overlay over the decks as a preventative maintenance measure for the bridges,” said Joe Gallamore, DOT project supervisor. “The department has a preventative maintenance and bridge rehabilitation program that we go through on all our infrastructure. Essentially we’re trying to maximize the life of all our infrastructure.”
The DOT expects the project will be completed in one season, with only nighttime closures. But it will simultaneously be working on a Menomonee Valley bridge rehabilitation, which could result in daytime closures and detours, Gallamore said.
Once a designer is chosen, it will take two to four years to design the project. In 2017, the department plans to put the project out to bid for contractors.
